A&L "instant" property valuation - Halifax house price calculator

1978

the calculator they use is ridiculous.

the last 3 times our house has sold it has been 75k, 120k, 150k.

if you were to put the data in their calculator, the 120k figure would come out at 103k (based upon the 75k and the proper dates), and the 150k figure (from the 103k figure and proper dates) would be 167k.

if you were to start with the date of the 120k figure, the value when it sold for 150k would come out at 192k.

it's all over the shop and cannot be relied upon, this is proven looking at historical data.

how any company can use this is beyond belief.

clairehi

jessibell wrote: »

I have had the same issue in the last week. It puts me at 90% which just doesn't make it worth me remortgaging with A&L. I tried to get them to value the house, even if I had to pay for it, but they wouldn't budge

Yes, I had the same experience - they wouldnt even consider the idea of a physical valuation. the agent didnt really seem interested tbh.

zAndy1

Well the outstanding mortgage on our house is £166k and according to the HBOS calculator it was worth £139k in Q4 2008 and the nationwide calculator says £149k in Q4 2008. Either way that makes very depressing reading as it makes our chances or remortgaging away from our subprime lender extrememly unlikely so we're going to be paying way over the odds for a long time to come. I could cry to be honest

EDIT: Just looked on a local estate agents website and an identical house to ours on our estate is on the market for £182k! Ridiculous

HelpWhereIcan

HelpWhereIcan wrote: »

I currently have 3 clients having physical valuations done to challenge an automated one and, based on our research, we (and the customers) expect one to come in much higher than the automated; the second to slightly higher (but enough); and the third to be a long shot (but one the customer feels it worth spending £75 on).

Your odds may be no better than 50/50.

Good Luck

Just to update on this. The 3rd case we had which was thought to be a long shot came back ok on Friday.

That makes 3 out of 3 where a surveyor has valued the property higher than the lender's automated system.

Now that is not to say that next time it won't be 0 out of 3 but it does go to show that if you do your research properly and impartially it is possible to over-ride an inaccurate automated valuation.

It is up to the lender whether they accept a physical valuation being done to appeal an automated one. Unfortunately it does not look like the A&L do.

zAndy1 - do not use the Halifax and Nationwide calculators in isolation. They are very generalised and do not take into account variations in house type, size and condition.

To get a better idea use sold price information in your street and up to a 1/4 of a mile away from places like Rightmove or any of the others that use land registry information.

Generally surveyors will only look at properties that have been sold within the last 3 -6 months so, while thy will not consider the one up for sale at £182k because it has not sold yet, there may well be other properties nearby that have sold that will help build a case for your valuation.

zAndy1

Well according to the rightmove site you linked to no houses have sold on our estate since Jan 2008 and I can well believe that, any with a for sale sign up have been that way for as long as I can remember. I guess that doesn't mean they're only worth £140k , it just means people aren't buying houses right now (and frankly who can blame them). Still doesn't bode well for me being able to remortgage though, 18 months to go on our fixed rate with £166k outstanding on a house the banks are likely to value at £150k at best. Means we need £50k before we're at 75% LTV and in a position to remortgage. Can't believe I find myself in this position at 41 years of age, should be 10 years or so from being mortgage free and now it looks like I'm going to be mortgage tied till I'm 65 at least. Not good

Fliss_M

zAndy1 wrote: »

Well according to the rightmove site you linked to no houses have sold on our estate since Jan 2008 and I can well believe that, any with a for sale sign up have been that way for as long as I can remember. I guess that doesn't mean they're only worth £140k , it just means people aren't buying houses right now (and frankly who can blame them). Still doesn't bode well for me being able to remortgage though, 18 months to go on our fixed rate with £166k outstanding on a house the banks are likely to value at £150k at best. Means we need £50k before we're at 75% LTV and in a position to remortgage. Can't believe I find myself in this position at 41 years of age, should be 10 years or so from being mortgage free and now it looks like I'm going to be mortgage tied till I'm 65 at least. Not good

Dont panic just yet. Look at it again in 12-14 months. With the markets and banks as volitile as they are, things could have picked up by then and your house worth more then 166k. If anything theres no sence in stressing till the moment arrives.

We are considering a move in 2-3 years, but were in negative equity at the mo. But am not stressing, no point in doing so till it will effect your life (finances) in a negative way.

Who knows, HBOS could say next week they forgot about the desimal point and its actually 11 million they lost. HA!